Chapter 85: Chapter 85 Why Don’t You Ask Me?_1
The woman glanced at it and directly took out her phone, pointing at the composite image they had created, she said:
"This photo, two days before this ID card photo was taken, she was stung by a bee and her face was still very swollen, her eyes looked a circle smaller. We told her to get it redone later, but she was too busy and never did."
Zhou Ning looked at the photo on the woman’s phone and, indeed, it resembled the composite image they had synthesized more closely. The woman was taken out, and Xu Dayuan moved closer to the screen, excitedly running his hands through his hair.
"Wow, this thing is incredible. I only heard Zhou Xiaozhou talk about what it’s used for before, but now that I’ve actually used it, I realize it’s unbelievable!"
Liu Yongxin slapped Xu Dayuan lightly and looked around at everyone, clearly suggesting he should stop making such a fuss.
"Xu Da, you go ahead and get busy. We’re about to perform the autopsy. Doctor Lu and his team want to observe. We just estimated the victim’s time of death to be between last night 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM this morning.
Although this area is thinly populated and lacks road surveillance, we should focus on checking the victim’s time of departure from work and her usual route. If the killer chose this place to commit the murder, I don’t think it was random. Maybe they had been watching the victim for a while."
Xu Dayuan grabbed his hat, nodding continuously.
"I was so thrilled that I forgot about the real work. But we can use this software from now on, right?"
Doctor Lu smiled.
"For you guys here, I want it to be a pilot unit for the software. After successful trials, it will be promoted through the Ministry of Public Security, and then any provincial or municipal bureau that pays will be able to use it for real."
"Becoming a pilot unit is already a privilege. Later, I’ll talk to the sub-bureau leadership about getting you an office or something."
Having said that, he turned and left. Mr. Zhao, holding a stack of disposable surgical gowns, distributed them, and everyone, without objection, donned them properly. Zhou Ning stood beside the autopsy table and looked around before saying:
"If it’s your first time witnessing an autopsy, it’s normal if someone feels nauseated. But I have just one request: if you’re feeling unwell, go outside to vomit; there’s a trash can ready at the door. Also, do not touch the autopsy table or anything on this stainless steel cart; we don’t want your DNA showing up in the lab results, as that would be very troubling to explain."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhou Ning took a deep breath and began the autopsy.
He made a Y-incision in the chest and abdomen and first looked at the neck. During the external examination, he found bruises on the victim’s neck and, upon further dissection, found subcutaneous bleeding, but the hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, and trachea were not damaged, meaning the force applied wasn’t severe.
The broken ribs had punctured the lungs, but the reaction was not distinct, indicating that this injury occurred when the victim was on the verge of death.
Zhou Ning paid close attention to examining the external genitalia, where clear lacerations were evident.
There were several scratch marks inside the vagina, the cervical opening was even scratched by fingernails. Zhou Ning directly separated this tissue, cutting it down the middle, and then scraped off the residue with a knife before dividing it into several bottles for preservation.
During such a procedure, Mr. Zhao couldn’t bear to watch, and Mr. Qu shuddered, immediately retreating and rushing out. He hadn’t expected to withstand the chest and abdominal dissection, but this was too much for him.
"Do you think the girl was raped?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"During the external examination, I collected some residue. Under the microscope, however, I didn’t find any sperm; yet, with so many scratch marks inside the vagina and the lacerations, I believe the perpetrator did assault the victim. I want to check thoroughly; if there was an assault, it won’t leave absolutely no traces."
After tidying the autopsy table, Liu Yongxin gestured for Zhou Ning not to bother with suturing; he took it upon himself. Zhou Ning, with the samples he had collected, labeled them and then went over to the microscope.
He smeared one of the samples on a slide and examined it, searching, but couldn’t find any sperm. Zhou Ning looked up, his brows furrowed. Mr. Zhao approached again.
"Still nothing?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Weird, how could there be none? Could it be that although he’s a pervert, he simply couldn’t get erect? So he just used his hands instead?"
Zhou Ning packed up the items, not even wasting the slides; after labeling, he handed them to Mr. Zhao.
"Send these for testing. It’s no use discussing this now. I’ve marked them to include a component analysis. If he used a condom, there would be traces of lubricant. Of course, if the person has a certain condition, like azoospermia, there could still be skin cell shedding from his hands. Let’s see if we’re lucky or not."
Mr. Zhao nodded and walked out, cradling the box, while Liu Yongxin had also finished suturing.
Elder Cui came over to transport the body away, but the sight of so many people in the dissecting room surprised him quite a bit, since it was essentially a restricted area where even the invited rarely lingered.
Liu Yongxin took off his gloves and the clothing he wore over his own.
"Let’s go, Doctor Lu. Let’s head back to the station together. I reckon Xu Da might have some clues already," he said.
They naturally had no objections, especially since today’s software trial had been so successful. Everyone came out and got into the car together, heading to the criminal police team’s building.
As soon as they entered the two-story building, they saw Mr. Feng directing a few people moving things around. She approached Zhou Ning.
"Xu Da said to clear out the office next to yours for Doctor Lu and his team. I’ve found some desks and chairs, but I don’t know what else you’re missing. Give me a list and I can get it ready," she said.
Before Zhou Ning could respond, Doctor Lu waved his hand and said:
"There’s no need for anything else. We have a truck that has already arrived, and having an office is enough. We’ll assemble our equipment ourselves. As for the image processing members, they’ll also be in place soon."
Zhou Ning paused, slightly puzzled.
"Image processing team?"
"Yes, they handle the software expansion for post-processing of images. Although we haven’t achieved results yet, the personnel are already in place. I thought it best to bring them all here and set up an experimental site. If you have any images that need processing, they can help complete it."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhao grinned widely and leaned over to wrap an arm around Doctor Lu’s neck.
"Doctor Lu, you’re amazing. Last time we had a case where we needed to process a shattered phone, our tech staff labored the whole night to figure it out. Now that you’re here, it’s going to be a matter of minutes, right?"
Mr. Zhao’s praise made Doctor Lu quite pleased.
"Not just a matter of minutes, but certainly faster than the average technician. And according to Zhou Ning’s concept of fully digitizing the image data, this repair work will be even quicker. Being closer to Zhou Ning means any issues can be communicated immediately, so research and improvements won’t be delayed."
Zhou Ning felt a bit embarrassed; he couldn’t very well admit he was all talk, only aware of the direction and outcomes of scientific research many years later, but lacking the processes involved!
He could do so little, and yet he received such help. It was as if he had gained a technological team for free.
"Isn’t that inappropriate?" he muttered.
Liu Yongxin waved his hand dismissively.
"Don’t start with that. Doctor Lu is doing this for the advancement of the software. The branch is definitely happy with this arrangement. What’s there for you to be unhappy about? It’s not like it’s costing you money. Just cooperate with Doctor Lu. That’s better than anything else," he said.
Doctor Lu grabbed Liu Yongxin by the arm, smiling gratefully.
"Your mentor is right. As long as it contributes to development, all of this is worth it," he said.
While they were talking, Xu Dayuan walked in.
"It sure is lively here. Have there been any new findings from the autopsy?" he asked.
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"There’s very little useful information. The victim had avulsions on the top of her head from being dragged by her hair - the bruising is very clear and occurred earlier. The rib fractures happened after the victim was stabbed, and there’s hardly any sign of struggle. The cause of death remains the same, it’s just that..."
Zhou Ning sighed, and without further explanation, Liu Yongxin moved closer to whisper about the lack of miconia seeds found. Zhou Ning paused before continuing.
"The victim was tortured for a long time. Although the forensic doctors from the city bureau came to look, I feel like this case has similarities with the previous eleven Red Dress Serial Murder cases. It’s just that we can’t access the case content related to those and aren’t able to make a detailed comparison."
Doctor Lu came closer, while the others had already gone downstairs to move the equipment. He blinked, catching up with the conversation.
"The Red Dress Serial Murder case? The one about eleven women in red dresses who were abused and killed? I know about that. And I have all the relevant data here. Why didn’t you ask me?" he inquired.
